Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said Bangladesh now stands at a critical crossroads, warning that the country’s future direction will largely depend on the strength and integrity of its financial institutions.
He made the remarks while addressing the Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) Summit 2026 on Thursday.
The summit was organised by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) at a hotel in Dhaka.
Khosru also said that the country’s financial reporting ecosystem had collapsed, stressing that transparency is directly linked to the survival and sustainable growth of the national economy.
He further said, “When financial reporting is weak, banks allocate credit based on distorted information, inefficient businesses receive funding, and the effective tax base shrinks.”
The minister said strengthening financial reporting is not merely a regulatory issue but a national economic priority.
“We must eradicate the culture of aggressive accounting to protect our banking sector and ensure our GDP growth is built on genuine strength, not accumulated opacity,” he emphasised.
BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan said trustworthy financial reporting has become essential for the ready‑made garment sector.
He added, “When financial statements fail to reflect economic reality, the cost of borrowing increases for everyone.”
BTMA Vice‑President Md Abul Kalam said false reporting in the textile sector undermines credit availability for genuinely viable enterprises.
In his keynote speech, FRC Chairman Md Sajjad Hossain Bhuiyan said the organisation is transitioning from a traditional regulator to “an active guardian of financial integrity.”
He added, FRC would enforce a comprehensive reconciliation of total bank deposits and require explanations for the nature of all transactions alongside IFRS disclosures to ensure long‑term liabilities and non‑performing loans are never hidden.
